Post something Weird or Random

[Outdated]

Australia doesn't have ostriches, just emus. South America also has a similar bird called a Rhea. Although they're very rare and endangered we have another similar animal called a Cassowary, these can be very dangerous but the only recorded death in the last 100 years was an idiot in Florida that kept one as a pet and he used to tease it and make it fight to show off to people. You get what you give.

I've been reasonably close to Wedge Tailed Eagles and they look huge when they swoop in low over you, they were eating a road kill kangaroo. Ukraine has been experimenting with training bald eagles to attack drones but they haven't been very successful with it. They should try wedge tailed eagles, wedgies do this by instinct and attack any drone on sight. They also attack sky divers, paragliders and small aircraft.

We've also got a bird that looks like a crane on steroids - the Jabiru.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Well, where are ostriches then, if not Austalia. I learned in elementary school that ostriches lived in Australia. I didn't even know about emus until I was an adult. I do know about the cassowary from Bryson's book.

Google says ostriches live in Africa, which I never knew. I do remember that ostriches have the largest egg of any bird. And incidentally, the yolk of an ostrich egg is a single cell; the largest single cell on this planet.

 

[Outdated]

I learned in elementary school that ostriches lived in Australia.

Half of what they taught me in school turned out to be completely wrong too.

And if you ever speak to an Aussie it's pronounced Eem-You, not eee-moo.

 

[Crossbreed]

IIRC, ostriches are in Africa & the middle east.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Half of what they taught me in school turned out to be completely wrong too.

And if you ever speak to an Aussie it's pronounced Eem-You, not eee-moo.

Thanks! I had no idea. I don't watch TV or videos; not even nature shows. I will have to practice so I dont embarrass myself.

Accent on the first syllable?

 

[Judge]

Interesting history about Ostriches and Australia..

"While there are some wild ostriches in Australia, the only stable breeding populations exist in their native Africa. Ostrich farming continues on the continent, although it is not as widespread as in previous decades. Australia is the native home of a close cousin of the ostrich, however, and sightings of the emu are much more frequent. The wild ostriches of Australia will likely die out over the coming years but fortunately, the species’ population remains strong both on its native continent and on farms worldwide."

https://animal-world.com/do-ostriches-live-in-australia/

 

[Outdated]

Interesting history about Ostriches and Australia..

We've also got problems with feral deer in Victoria, and we're the only country in the world that exports camels to Saudi Arabia. Ostrich farming was a bit of a fad for hobby farmers a couple of decades ago, and that's exactly how we ended up with the deer problem too. What I don't understand is how these people were allowed to import them in the first place.

The camels are a different story, although they're also an invasive pest that breeds in plague proportions. Back in the 1800s we brought in Afghanni camel caravaners to help explore and open up the middle of the country and they brought their camels with them. Meanwhile in the middle east they fiercely bred camels for racing and their populations eventually became so interbred that they were all starting to suffer genetic defects. Australia has all the original bloodlines from 200 years ago.

 

[Outdated]

Accent on the first syllable?

 

[Streetwise]

This is how ostriches are being kept alive, if you want to stay blissfully ignorant about ostriches DON'T watch farming IS NOT conservation its genocide

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Well, I'd love to see the emerald green egg, so I will google that shortly.

Here it is. This is not emerald green. More a cyan color. I'd probably be more impressed with the color if she hadn't said that. Maybe it looks more green to Australians who have so much sparsely vegetated brown land.

OTOH, I'm not sure I want to be run down by a pack of emus going 50k/hour.

We have in the past, not sure if they still exist, great herds of cattle in the west that were known to stampede and run down people.

 

[Outdated]

OTOH, I'm not sure I want to be run down by a pack of emus going 50k/hour.

Emus won't bother you unless they think you're a threat to their young, and they're not at all aggressive unless you get much too close to the little ones.

We have in the past, not sure if they still exist, great herds of cattle in the west that were known to stampede and run down people.

I've seen a lot of news stories that prove your tourists are every bit as stupid as ours. They think that because an animal doesn't run away from them then it must be tame, so they try to take selfies standing right next to them. Or they try to pat the animal.

In most cases if an animal is not afraid of you it's because that animal knows it has no need to be afraid.

 

[Forest Cat]

This sauna in Sweden might be the best one I have seen. The wood in it is crazy. So fancy. It makes everything else look like crap.

 

[Outdated]

This sauna in Sweden might be the best one I have seen. The wood in it is crazy. So fancy.

That's a stunning piece of work. I've only been in a sauna once, when I was a teenager. Nobody warned me to remove metal jewelry before entering.

 

[Forest Cat]

That's a stunning piece of work. I've only been in a sauna once, when I was a teenager. Nobody warned me to remove metal jewelry before entering.

Ouch I'll bet that was unpleasant. I've been in 85ºC saunas and you do not want any metal on or near you.

That sauna looks ridiculously good. Fancy with a big F. The craftmanship is outstanding.

 

[Judge]

What I don't understand is how these people were allowed to import them in the first place.

Probably for the same reason the US has so many invasive species.

Poachers who occupationally ignore laws pertaining to importing various species. And their unscrupulous buyers who tire of their acquisition and simply dump the animals to fend for themselves.

 

[Outdated]

Poachers who habitually ignore laws pertaining to importing various species. And their unscrupulous buyers.

It goes a bit beyond that, there is very definitely corruption in our politics. As an example, it's well known all over the world that we have extreme problems with rabbits and we've spent billions over they years trying to find answers to the problem. Meanwhile in Sydney and Melbourne we've got pet shops importing and selling rabbits.

Queensland is the first state to start taking the problem seriously and I want to see other states follow suit.

 

[Judge]

It goes a bit beyond that, there is very definitely corruption in our politics. As an example, it's well known all over the world that we have extreme problems with rabbits and we've spent billions over they years trying to find answers to the problem. Meanwhile in Sydney and Melbourne we've got pet shops importing and selling rabbits.

Queensland is the first state to start taking the problem seriously and I want to see other states follow suit.

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From what I have heard, you have an extreme problem with a number of species.

Last one I heard about was the Cane Toad. One of the world's worst invasive species. Potentially lethal to pets like dogs if they lick them or pick them up in their mouths.

 

[Outdated]

Last one I heard about was the Cane Toad. One of the world's worst invasive species. Potentially lethal to pets like dogs if they lick them or pick them up in their mouths.

Worse than that, their egg masses release toxins in to the water to stop fish from eating the eggs, anything that swims near them dies. They're also a serious drug problem in remote communities, a lot of young people get addicted to toad toxin. So do a lot of dogs.

They were deliberately introduced, and once again by corruption. One sugar cane farmer came up with the idea of introducing them to combat cane beetle. CSIRO knocked back his application several times but one of his mates was a politician that gave him an exemption.

And as for their effectiveness in fighting cane beetle - beetles can fly, toads can't.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Worse than that, their egg masses release toxins in to the water to stop fish from eating the eggs, anything that swims near them dies. They're also a serious drug problem in remote communities, a lot of young people get addicted to toad toxin. So do a lot of dogs.

They were deliberately introduced, and once again by corruption. One sugar cane farmer came up with the idea of introducing them to combat cane beetle. CSIRO knocked back his application several times but one of his mates was a politician that gave him an exemption.

And as for their effectiveness in fighting cane beetle - beetles can fly, toads can't.

I was told the cane toad was imported here from Australia. It is a terrible pest here. I wonder where it does come from. It was imported to control some sort of insect bothering the sugar cane. In Florida, what the sugar cane corporations want, they get.

OK. They come mostly the Amazon River basin.

Emus won't bother you unless they think you're a threat to their young, and they're not at all aggressive unless you get much too close to the little ones.

I've seen a lot of news stories that prove your tourists are every bit as stupid as ours. They think that because an animal doesn't run away from them then it must be tame, so they try to take selfies standing right next to them. Or they try to pat the animal.

In most cases if an animal is not afraid of you it's because that animal knows it has no need to be afraid.

Like smearing honey on a child's cheek so the bear will lick it off and they get a cute picture??? You mean like that.

Probably for the same reason the US has so many invasive species.

Poachers who occupationally ignore laws pertaining to importing various species. And their unscrupulous buyers who tire of their acquisition and simply dump the animals to fend for themselves.

This is how we got the Burmese Python in the Everglades. NOW I am afraid to camp in the Everglades. They have migrated further north and have been noted north of the Caloosahatchee River, which means into my area. Privately I have been told they have devoured 80% of the mammals in Everglades.

 

[Forest Cat]

I've seen a lot of news stories that prove your tourists are every bit as stupid as ours. They think that because an animal doesn't run away from them then it must be tame, so they try to take selfies standing right next to them. Or they try to pat the animal.

That's not a problem here, except when it comes to this animal. Tourists go on musk ox safari and don't realize how fast and sneaky musk ox can be. They just run you down. They are the titans of the arctic.